The present invention relates to a terminal connecting portion of a waterproofed sheathed wire by resin molding, a method of waterproofing the same and a waterproofing apparatus using the method.
Generally, in a case of a sheathed wire, its front end is stripped to expose conductors therein, and stripped or bare conductors are caulked, and the sheathed wire is connected to an electric part or machinery through a terminal fitting which is crimped by caulking on the bare conductors. Being left to be bare as it is, a water content goes into the sheathed wire owing to capillary phenomenon. For avoiding the phenomenon, the terminal connecting portion including the bare conductors is protected by various covering members for waterproofing.
For example, a grounding terminal fitting described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-289745A is waterproofed by covering a thermal shrinking tube on the bare conductors of the terminal connecting portion, heating to deposit it thereon.
FIGS. 10A to 10C conceptually show a technique for water proofing treatment on the terminal connecting portion of the sheathed wire by means of the thermal shrinking tube. In this case, the front end part of the sheathed wire 1 is peeled to be bare conductors 1a on which a caulking part 2b of the terminal fitting 2 is crimped, and the thus formed terminal connection is connected as an earth cable to such as a vehicle body by screwing, e.g., a screw or bolt 3 into a connecting part 2a at the front end of the terminal fitting 2.
For forming the terminal connection by crimping the terminal fitting 2 to the sheathed wire 1, as shown in FIG. 10A, the thermal shrinking tube 5 has been previously inserted in the sheathed wire 1. The thermal shrinking tube 5 is coated on the interior with an adhesive agent (hot melt), and slid forward after crimping the terminal fitting 2 so as to cover almost allover the terminal connection except the connecting part 2a at the front end of the terminal fitting 2. Continuously, as shown in FIG. 10B, the thermal shrinking tube 5 is heated and melted especially on the peeled bare electric wire 1a to form a covering part 5A. By covering to protect the terminal connection with the covering part 5A, the waterproofing treatment is performed for preventing the water content from penetrating the sheathed wire 1.
Then, the connecting part 2a at the front end of the terminal fitting 2 is connected to a vehicle body 4 by a bolt 3. If there occurs a space C corresponding to a size by thickness of the covering part 5A by the thermal shrinking tube 5 between the sheathed wire and the vehicle body 4 as shown in FIG. 10C, inferior conduction is caused between the connection 2a and the vehicle body 4. For avoiding such inconvenience, as shown in FIG. 10A, a difference in level is previously formed in a processing step at a boundary between the front connection 2a of the terminal fitting 2 and the caulking part 2b. A size of the difference in level of a bent part 2c compensates the space C occurring by a size of thickness of the covering part 5A.
As another waterproofing method, for example, as a connecting plate for battery holder, described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-120986A, such a technique is obviously known which covers to protect the terminal connecting portion with a molding resin, which part is crimped with the terminal fitting on the bare conductor for the water proofing treatment. In this case, as the molding resin, polyamide based hot melt is generally employed. This is melted and injected from the injecting nozzle of the molding die to a molding part which is a molding cavity. Since the melted resin is at high temperature, polyamide based resin is employed for an insulation covering material of the sheathed wire 1, which resin has a heat resistance durable against high temperature of the melted molding resin.
However, the following problems exist in the case of the first related method employing the thermal shrinking tube shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C.
1) For compensating the space C occurring in relation with such as the vehicle body 4 by thickness of the covering part 5A formed by heating to melt, the terminal fitting 2 is provided with the bent part 2c to form a level difference. When vibration of the vehicle body is transmitted to the terminal fitting 2 in bent shape via the sheathed wire 1, a bent point 2d at a boundary of the difference in level 2c is made a vibration fulcrum on which vibration stress acts, and it is probably broken inconveniently due to fatigue as a time passes.
2) Since the use of such thermal shrinking tube 5 requires in advance an operation for inserting it into the sheathed wire 1 and a work of heating to deposit it, productivity does not go up.
On the other hand, the following problems will occur also in the second related method using the above resin molding.
1) Since polyamide based resin having the heat resistance durable against high temperature of the melted mold resin is used for the insulator of the sheathed wire, an expensive heat resistant electric wire cannot but be used for the sheathed wire uneconomically more than necessarily.
2) When polyamide based hot melt is used as the molding resin, inconveniently it is easily embrittled by an oil content as gasoline, and it is very disadvantageous to use it to automobiles.
3) If polyamide based hot melt is used, the terminal fitting should be preheated for heightening adherence when melting, and a processing number is increased as much.
4) The melting temperature when injecting polyamide hot melt is high as 220xc2x0 C., and labor burden is large on workers due to high temperature.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a terminal connecting portion of a sheathed wire which enables to reduce working burdens as a representative merit and by far improve producing efficiency by employing a resin molding die in place of the related thermal shrinking tube, for carrying out waterproofing treatment at a terminal connecting portion which is crimped with the terminal fitting to the sheathed wire at a front end thereof via caulking.
In view of the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of waterproofing a terminal connecting portion of a sheathed wire, in which a terminal fitting and a bare conductor of the sheathed wire are connected with each other, the method comprising the steps of:
placing the terminal connecting portion of the sheathed wire into a molding cavity of a molding die such that a bottom face of the terminal connecting portion is closely brought into contact with one of inner faces of the molding cavity; and
injecting molten molding resin into the molding cavity such that a bottom face of a solidified molding resin and the bottom face of the terminal connecting portion define an identical plane.
In the above configuration, efficiency in the forming work can be improved in comparison with the related method using the thermal shrinking tube.
Further, since the molding resin is deposited onto almost three sides of the terminal connecting portion (i.e., both side faces and top face), the molding can be made easier.
Preferably, a moisture hardening polyurethane hot melt is used as the molding resin.
In the above configuration, the melting temperature at injecting in the molding die can be determined to be low temperature as, for example, 100xc2x0 C., and the injecting temperature as 100xc2x0 C. is very low in comparison with 220xc2x0 C. of polyamide based hot melt to be used in the related resin molding. By realizing it, operators of molding are released from working at high temperature and the labor burden is considerably reduced. Though the injecting temperature of the moisture hardening polyurethane hot melt of the present embodiment is 100xc2x0 C., it has a heat resistance against around 160xc2x0 C. after reaction. This fact is adaptable sufficiently and advantageously under circumstances at high temperature as a vehicle engine room. Further, if using polyamide hot melt, the terminal fitting requires to be preheated in advance for enhancing adherence when melting, the processing step is increase as much, but if using the moisture hardening polyurethane hot melt, the preheating of the metal is unnecessary, and it is useful to decreasing of the processing steps.
Preferably, melt viscosity of the molding resin is 50 [Paxc2x7s] or less. More preferably, the melt viscosity of the molding resin is 20 [Paxc2x7s] or less.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an waterproofing apparatus for realizing the above method, comprising:
a first mold defining a part of a molding cavity, which is provided with a planar face on which a bottom face of the terminal connecting portion of a sheathed wire is closely brought into contact; and
a second mold defining another part of the molding cavity, provided with a runner channel positioned so as to oppose to the planer face, through which molten molding is injected into the molding cavity.
In the above configuration, since the runner channel opposes to the planer face, the molten molding resin can be easily poured and deposited onto the top face and both side faces of the terminal connecting portion.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a terminal connecting portion of a sheathed wire which is waterproofed by the above method, comprising a molded portion a bottom face of which define a plane identical with a bottom face of the terminal connecting portion.
In the above configuration, in a case where the terminal fitting is connected to a circuit board of an electric equipment, the bottom face of the terminal connecting portion is closely attached thereon, so that electrically conductive badness is not generated. Furthermore, since it is not necessary to provide the bent portion as shown in the related art of FIGS. 10A and 10B in order to compensate the level difference, the breakage problem of the bent portion due to the vibration stress can be naturally avoided.